Tyler Ford earned his first NBA playoff assignment in his fourth season as a league official.

LAFAYETTE — Basketball fans see the public life of an NBA official, running the floor with superstars and occasionally going face-to-face with famous cosches.

They don't see what Tyler Ford and his fellow officials endure off the court. The no-frills climb through the college and minor league ranks. The long stints away from their families during the season.

Last Saturday, Ford received the kind of honor that makes the grind seem worth it. The Lafayette resident, in his fourth year in the league, was selected as one of 36 NBA officials who will work the first round of playoff games, beginning Saturday. Ford, 33, is one of seven officials making their playoff debuts.

Referee Tyler Ford during the game between the San Antonio Spurs and the LA Clippers on December 29, 2018, at STAPLES Center in Los Angeles, California.(Photo: Andrew D. Bernstein/ NBA Photo)

"That adrenaline rush I'm going to get tomorrow — that's an addicting thing," Ford said Friday from the site of his first-round playoff series — a location he is not allowed to disclose until the league announces assignments on Saturday morning.

"The juice from being in the arena — that's what drives you and makes you want to advance and get to the next step. You embrace the pressure and energy in the arena and competing to perform as well as you can."

Ford's career in refereeing began on the other side of the state, and far away from the "juice" of an NBA playoff atmosphere.

During his freshman orientation at Ball State, the Ohio native saw a help wanted notice for intramural officials. He took that job to earn some extra cash, then he and a friend pursued their high school licenses. He worked junior high and junior varsity games mostly, but quickly earned a chance to officiate college games in the NAIA Crossroads League and Division III's Heartland College Athletic Conference.

Ford, who originally planned to pursue a career as a sports agent, completed bachelor's and master's degrees in sports administration at Ball State. In 2009 he accepted a job as Purdue's assistant director of intramural sports. While he left Purdue in 2015, he still resides in Lafayette with his wife, Danielle, and their 2-year-old son, Brecken.

Around the same time, what started as a side hustle began to grow into something more. The biggest break came with a 2010 e-mail inviting him to try out for what was then still known as the NBA Developmental League, now called the G League.

"I thought, OK, this is real. This is an opportunity," Ford said. "Once I got hired and started to see success, I knew it was a possibility to do full-time."

For a few years Ford worked full-time at Purdue, officiated G League and WNBA games and also worked games for the MAC, the Summit League, and for the 2014-15 season, the Big Ten. Those lower levels, however, featured similar stepping stones the ones at the highest levels. He earned G League playoff assignments, then the 2014 All-Star game, then the 2015 finals.

Prior to the 2014-15 season he was one of a handful of G League officials invited to the NBA's preseason officials camp. He worked three preseason games, then made his regular season debut on Nov. 7 in Philadelphia for a Bulls-76ers game.

A year later, he started a full-time workload in the NBA.

While describing that climb, Ford talked about having a good game or season in the same way a player or coach might. Officials compete against themselves, trying to make every call correct. They can go to the locker room at halftime or after the game and watch video of close calls to see whether or not they got it right.

Ford, however, said an official's gut usually has the answer before they turn on a television.

NBA referee Tyler Ford talks to Josh Hart of the Los Angeles Lakers during the game against the Sacramento Kings on December 27, 2018 at Golden 1 Center in Sacramento, California.(Photo: Rocky Widner/NBA Photos)

"If you screw up a play at the end and it impacts the outcome of a game, that's a sickening loss," Ford said. "Any heartbreaking loss a coach, team or player has experienced, they have that feeling in their guy — maybe even fans at times. It's the same thing."

During a game, while officials occasionally hear a collective boo, they don't hear the more personal attacks. Those come later, on social media or other internet forums. The officials' family sees those attacks — a reality Ford fears has affected officiating at all levels.

If Ford needed any more validation about the job he did this season, it came with that playoff assignment one week ago.

“Just as our players strive to reach the postseason, the same is true of our officials,” Byron Spruell, NBA President of League Operations, said in a news release about the playoff officials. “Through their on-court achievement, hard work and professionalism, this dedicated group has earned the right to represent the NBA in the playoffs.”

Ford does not know how long his first assignment will last. The stints away from home are, by now, common. Ford estimates he spends 23-25 days of every month on the road.

Technology helps bridge that distance. As soon as he arrived in his playoff destination he had a FaceTime call from his son. Ford will most likely be back home for birth of the family's second child, a girl, due May 9.

For now, Ford is grateful for another opportunity in a career that keeps advancing faster than he expected.

"I'm extremely fortunate to be in this position in my fourth year," Ford said. "Those things don't happen that often."